Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokriyal 'Nishank' on Saturday tasked the directors and chairmen of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) to prove that Sanskrit is the "most scientific language" and the "most appropriate language" for talking computers - if they become a reality in the future.
"We are questioned only because we are unable to prove Sanskrit's ability. I want to request the Vice Chancellors and Chancellors of IITs and NITs that we should prove this," the minister said in his address at the Gyanotsav 2076 event organised at IGNOU.
"The scientists at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have acknowledged that Sanskrit is the most scientific language in which the words are written exactly in the manner they are spoken or thought of. If talking computers become a reality in the future, Sanskrit would be the most useful language for them. If the scientists at NASA pronounce Sanskrit as the most scientific language, why do you have a problem?" he asked, challenging his critics to cite any language which is more scientific than Sanskrit.
"Sanskrit is the oldest language as the 'Vedas' and 'Puranas' were written in the language. Sanskrit is the mother of all languages on the planet. If there is any other language that you can claim to be older than Sanskrit, you should tell me," he said.
Nishank had made similar claims at the 57th convocation of IIT-Bombay earlier. The Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry then had clarified that he was referring to the work of a NASA scientist who had published an article 'Knowledge Representation in Sanskrit and Artificial Intelligence' in the 'Artificial Intelligence' magazine.
He also claimed that the gravitational force has been mentioned in ancient Hindu texts thousands of years before Isaac Newton discovered it. He asked the gathering to further the rich knowledge available in the ancient texts.
The minister also claimed that 'Rishi Pranav' was the first to discover atoms and molecules.
Interestingly, the minister had claimed at the IIT-B convocation that it was Charaka Rishi - hailed as one of the principal contributors of Ayurveda - who was the first person who researched and discovered atoms and molecules.
"Who conducted research on atoms and molecules? Charaka Rishi was the one who researched atoms and molecules and discovered them," he had said.
Nishank also batted for Hindi as the medium of communication, while emphasising that all Indian languages will be strengthened.
"We will strengthen all the Indian languages. However, a language of communication that weaves in all the languages is the language of the nation. This is the reason why the paragraph 343 of our Constitution states that the national language will be Hindi. Gandhiji said that the nation that does not have its national language is dumb," he said.
The minister also asserted that India can become a world leader once again if it looks towards its ancient knowledge.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that along with 'Jai Jawan', 'Jai Kisan' and 'Jai Vigyan', time has come to add 'Jai Anusandhan' (research) too," he said.
( With inputs from IANS )